A Family's Legacy in Art for the Home

Category: Location Portraits
(page 1 of 2)

Not all beach portraits have to actually be ON the beach. Some can just have a beautiful view OVER the beach!

We recently did a portrait of Chad and Erica Reisser and their family on top of Point Dume looking south toward Malibu. What a gorgeous day at the beach…the sand cliffs could inspire a plein air painting.

Erica did such a nice job of coordinating her family’s clothes with just the right blend of variety, color and character, and it paid off in such a big way. I especially love their youngest son, Phoenix’s seersucker jacket. Handsome little man, huh?

If it’s time for you to update your family’s portrait, whether it’s at the beach or elsewhere, we would love to help you celebrate your family’s legacy.

We have been getting a lot of calls lately from past clients who would like to update their family portrait. Since the holidays are a time when families are gathering together, it’s often a great time to schedule a portrait session.

To encourage easy scheduling, we have designed our “Conejo Valley Mini-Session Portrait”. We are reserving a number of Saturdays and Sundays this Fall to do these portraits at several select locations, and you will have a choice of what area best fits your desires.

The Halperin Family at the Mission Door location:

In the mornings, we will do the Lakeside scene at the Westlake Lake, and in the afternoon, we will do the Mission Door scene, and the Rustic Conejo scene, both done in the Dos Vientos area of the Valley.

The Walter Family at the Rustic Conejo location:

The Grobstein Family at the Westlake Lake location:

The dates and times are limited, so call the studio soon for more information:

805-367-8100

P.S. If you have an idea of a “custom” location like your home, or the beach, or someplace exotic, let us know, and we will apply this special package toward that sitting.

Most portrait artists would probably get nervous about doing a portrait of a family of six with two horses and a dog, but it seems to make me rise to the occasion. Maybe I’m just one of those who works best under pressure?

Don’t you think that Shelley Deady did a wonderful job of styling her family’s clothes…I take no credit at all. Of course, she’s done this a number of times before, so she obviously knows what she’s doing.

Summer is a great time for doing a family portrait, and I’m always up for a new challenge!

I had such a fun time creating portraits with these two little ladies!

Their mom has been a client for quite a number of years, and knew just how to dress the girls for some wonderful portraits together as well as by themselves.

It’s always exciting for me to have so many options to explore in the portrait locations as well as in wardrobe…and it will result in some beautiful portraits for the walls of their home for years to come.

If you’ve been holding off on having your family’s portrait created for the first time, or you’re thinking about updating your portrait, there’s no better time than now.

Michael and Tricia Berg just moved to a wonderful new home in the hills above Thousand Oaks, and updated their portrait just right before Christmas 2013. The last time we did their portrait at the Westlake Inn, and Tricia could hold Sophia in her arms! Don’t you just love Sophia and Francesca’s bright dresses?

I love to create portraits that really are a living legacy to the things you hold dear. I can think of no greater compliment than to hear that my portraits still make people smile, decades after I’ve created them.

Don’t let this year slip by without capturing this beautiful season of your life.

Today I delivered this portrait of Lindah Miles and her three daughters, and I think it’s such a gorgeous equestrian portrait. The girls are triplets, but fraternal triplets, and so much fun to work with.

We actually did this portrait at Ivy Gate Farm, which is Mary Morrison’s barn down in San Juan Capistrano. We found just the right spot on the property to do the portrait, and it really feels like you’re in The South, and not the south of Orange County!

What a pleasure it is to capture such lovely ladies and horses in an art piece they will love for decades.

Last year, we lived for a few months just around the corner from the sand in Seal Beach. It was terribly romantic for April and me, and it was a pretty incredible experience for me as an artist as well. The crowded, urban nature of the pier, the weekend beach-goers with their umbrellas, picnic lunches and even the big berm they put up every winter to keep the storms out – they’re all beautiful elements that tell the story of both the beach and the people who love it.

Maybe it’s because of my fond memories, but it’s definitely become my favorite beach to create our client’s portraits. Besides…it gives us a chance to debate over going to The Abbey or Beachwood BBQ for dinner afterwards ( they’re both GREAT).

If it’s time to update your portrait, let’s meet in Seal for your portrait … maybe you’ll be seduced by this happy beach town as much as I am.
Mark

Call the studio at 949-515-5140 in OC or 805-367-8100 in Ventura County.

I love the session we just did of the Mark and Monica Fuller family. They live in Santa Rosa valley, which is perfect for their daughter Madison, who loves riding. The portrait is especially important to the Fullers. The experienced first hand that when our kids head off to college, it takes a little more effort to get the whole family together.
Mark worked at the Norton Simon Museum, and the Fullers have an amazing collection of artwork in their home. You can imagine what n honor it is that we will be making a painting for them.

Remember film? Back in the olden days, I was a wedding photographer when there were no easy-to-use digital cameras. The challenges were completely different, and few people dared to be photographers. We typically shot between 180-200 images at an entire 9 hour wedding. We had to plan ahead, to think carefully and to know before we even clicked the shutter exactly what the end result would be. Things were so different then

Those years of experience shooting weddings launched me into what I hope is a lifelong career in portraiture. From the very beginning I’ve been blessed. I’ve had incredible opportunities to create innumerable portraits of people all over the world.

And, I get to do what I love most. My passion is for families: especially families with grandparents, little children and everyone in between.

I also love the equestrian world that has welcomed me so graciously. I’m experiencing an intensely creative time of doing individual portraits. Some of these are young children and “soon-to-be adult” young men and women. I’m collaborating with April in painted portraiture.

It’s a time of great experimentation that’s based on years of experience with you, my kind and trusting clients.

It may be time for you to update your portrait. Heather Hawkins and her family came back last year and we created this gorgeous portrait. Wouldn’t it be fun for you to have something equally interesting – and beautiful – made this year? I hope to hear from you soon.

A couple of years back, Mark and I thought it would be interesting to create a family portrait for our (then) pregnant daughter Kelly and her husband Andrew Harman, at the crowded Balboa Pier in Newport Beach. Everyone who we know loves the images, which hang as a gallery in her home.

Now that Luke has come along, they need a new portrait. I thought it would be fun for Mark to take them to the Grove in LA. It didn’t occur to me that a Sunday afternoon would be an insane time to do a portrait there. Nevertheless, everyone was up for the idea.

As usual, Mark pulled it off beautifully. The portraits will make another wonderful grouping for Kelly, and it will be a very special gift that she’ll enjoy for a long time!

I’m so proud of Mark – it takes a bit of nerve to shoot in some of the locations we’ve been visiting lately.